Bruno Doiron
University of Texas Health Science Center, USA
Title: The challenge and hype of stem cells research to replace insulin injection: Many hurdles remain
Biography
Biography: Bruno Doiron
Abstract
The quest to replace insulin injection treatment has focused on two strategies: In vivo islet transplantation and in vitro nuclear reprogramming to produce differentiated beta cells. Ultimately, both strategies rely on encapsulation to implant islets or culture cells into the human body. The many hurdles involved with islet transplantation have yet to be overcome and, even if successful, the paucity of pancreatic donors limits this approach. An alternative approach has attempted to recapitulate the embryonic development of pancreatic beta cell in vitro using stem cells. However, the stem cell approach requires in vitro cell culture and still has to overcome the hurdle of encapsulation. Beyond the capsulation hurdle, there remains a lack of knowledge about the basic molecular/cellular events via which a completely undifferentiated cell can be transformed into a functioning tissues/organ which can be integrated into whole body homeostasis. Mark Twain said: “What gets us into trouble is not what we don’t know; it’s what we know for sure that just isn’t so.”
